Where Are the Learning Objectives?!

From the very first edition, there have never been chapter objectives in Anatomy & Physiology. Why is that?

Let me start by asking the question How likely is it that every single course using a particular textbook would have the SAME objectives? Not likely. The makeup of the student population in a course matters. The context of the institution and its programs matters. All kinds of factors are involved in setting a proper set of learning objectives or outcomes for any particular course.

We feel that it's much better for the objectives to appear in the course syllabus (or similar course-based location). That way, they exactly reflect what the student should achieve. This results in far less confusion for students trying to reconcile all the many concepts and facts in the book vs. what they will actually be held accountable for learning. Students will have a much better idea of how to prepare for tests.

But the instructors are not left to fend for themselves completely. In the TEACH lesson plans—available online in the Evolve Instructor Resources that accompany Anatomy & Physiology—there are sets of objectives already laid out for you. These include chapter objectives and also section objectives—all aligned with the HAPS Learning Outcomes.

The idea is that each instructor (or department) can copy over to their syllabus only the objectives that actually apply to their course. Perhaps adding, changing, deleting bits here and there. We feel that this works much better for student learning. But it does take some thought and effort on the part of the instructor.

This isn't one of the reasons we don't include chapter objectives in Anatomy & Physiology, but think about this—how many times have we all realized of how "stinking big" all the two-semester A&P books are? So I'm loathe to add (how many?) pages to the book by adding 48 sets of objectives!